Infiltration!
"Infiltration!" is the first part of the eighth episode of Knights of the Multiverse Season 1. In her first solo mission, Usagi is tasked with disabling L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.'s next potential base of operations, the Adzam. There, she meets Nyoka, the shy, kind-hearted daughter of the fortress's head scientist. It features the introduction of Nyoka, Dr. Kay, and L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.'s first attempt at a flying fortress, the Adzam. Featured Characters Plot Summary The episode begins with Mazinger Z dashing above a forest. Inside the cockpit, Koji and Usagi are recapping the plan: sneak in, get as much info as you can, make some noise, and get out. Koji made sure to point out though that even though this was her first solo mission, just to be safe, he and Mazinger would be sitting nearby in case they was needed. With one last comment from her big brother to just do her best, Usagi then bravely jumped out of the cockpit, pulled the cord on her parachute, and safely landed... into a tree (not off to a great start). Nearby, a young girl in a red dress and white apron is sitting in a field picking some flowers and humming a little song. The gem on her crest suddenly begins to flash, indicating a human signature she didn't recognize. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she rushes over to investigate, and finds Usagi tangled in a mess of vines a few feet of the ground. The girl rushes over to help, breaking the vines surprisingly easily, and causing Usagi to fall on her face. The girl introduced herself as Nyoka, and that she lived around the area. Usagi insists that she take her to the fortress. The two lead to L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N.'s newest weapon (seriously, get use to this phrase), the Adzam, a large purple fortress adorned with several large laser cannons on top of it. One jab at its stupid color scheme and lack of security later, Usagi begins to run forward, but Nyoka stops her and throws a rock in front of them, revealing an array of hidden laser turrets under the ground that destroy the rock instantly. Thankfully, Nyoka… somehow knows another route: a sewage pipe. Understandably confused, Usagi finally decides to ask how exactly she knows all of this stuff, to which Nyoka reveals that she actually lives at the base while her creator worked on the fortress' weapons systems, but she grew very lonely with no other kids around and would frequently sneak out to mingle with the local plant/wildlife. Usagi could relate to this very easily, with how often it seemed like she was neglected back in Crystal Tokyo, so she graciously excepted her help in getting inside. The two girls quickly exit the tunnel and rush towards the Adzam's main hub. They just barely escape the sight of a couple of patrolling Cyclopian Guards, with Nyoka remarking how she could never be friends with such heartless beasts. They enter a hallway that leads to an elevator that should take them to the top floor of the base, only to have the wall in front of them to flip around and reveal a machine gun that immediately fires at them, the two ducking away. If that wasn't enough, the roof then quickly descends towards them, the two holding it thanks to their super strength. Nyoka says that there's a wire lining the hall that controls the defense systems, so Usagi throws her Moon Tiara Boomerang, slashing through the wall and wire, causing the roof to raise back upward. The two children then run to the elevator located at the side of the hall, but as the door closes behind them, the elevator rockets upward, forcing them onto the floor. When it stops, the elevator unfolds to reveal a spherical room of some sort with a monitor above a door. Nyoka's mother, Dr. Kay, then appears on the monitor, telling her daughter to exit the room so she could deal with the intruder. Nyoka refuses to move, telling her that Usagi didn't do anything. Startled, Kay tells her that Usagi was one the reasons the fortress was even built, so that L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N. could crush their foes and conquer the world. This comes as a shock to Nyoka, as she didn't know that Usagi had come to stop Kayr's new creation, or that her mom had was associated with people trying to kill others. Still, she was still her mother, so she had to obey her, so Nyoka departed the room. Kay then starts to threaten Usagi, only for the girl to inform her that Mazinger Z itself was waiting nearby to wreck the fortress should anything happen to her. Kay then explains that she had foreseen at least one Mecha appearing to stop them, so she threw in a little surprise. With the press of a few buttons, two thrusters activate on each of the Adzam's support beams, causing the fortress to lift into the air. Meanwhile, Koji is keeping himself busy by playing a Mazinger/Getter Robo fighting game with Ruri. He loses to her again, of course, but then spots the Adzam hovering over the horizon. Figuring he should take care of that, Ruri hangs up, as Mazinger launches. Back inside her cell, Usagi tries tackling the door, only for it to force her back with a electric shock. Dr. Kay reveals that the door was guarded by an Super-Electromagnetic barrier, so it was useless to resist. Suddenly, Usagi hears a tapping noise coming from the ceiling, which turns out to be Nyoka trying to punch her way into the room. Seeing her with a security camera located nearby, Kay is infuriated to see her daughter disobey her, but she wasn't too worried. She wasn't strong enough to leave even a dent in stronger metals, so just let her tire herself out. That is until a familiar "Rocket Punch!" echoes through the air, as Mazinger Z's forearms careen towards the Adzam's main hub. The fists bounce off though, causing Nyoka to almost lose her balance and Usagi to fall onto the ground inside her cell. As Mazinger retrieves its fists, several of the Adzam's turrets lock onto it and start firing. As Koji dodges the laser fire, Nyoka notices that one of the dents the fist made revealed some of the circuitry controlling Usagi's cell, so she rushes over to pull up some of the wires. The rupture causes an explosion inside, leaving a semi-large hole in the ceiling. Seizing the opportunity, Usagi super-jumps through the hole, surprising Nyoka enough to fall backwards. Mazinger then flies up and holds up the turret next to them, and Usagi updates Koji on how well the mission's going. He then punches into the turret, causing it to explode, and says that he and Mazinger will provide cover, but then suddenly gets shot in the face by one of the turrets, sending it plummeting to the ground. As it gets back to its feet, the Adzam hovers downward. Some sort of cable lowers from its bottom, that ejects numerous smaller cables that surround Koji. The cables then light up with electricity, zapping Koji and Z inside. Worse yet, a swarm of Cyclopian drones descend from the flying fortress with the intent to kill once the barrier fries all of Mazinger's controls. Knowing they needed to act fast, the two kids rush to a nearby emergency exit that reaches the control center, but are stopped by a spare Cyclops drone that stayed behind. It rushes forward, tackling Usagi and sending flying into the wall behind her. The drone grabs her by the throat, pushing her further into the wall, as it raises its left claw to make the final blow. Desperate to help her new friend, Nyoka throws a nearby fire extinguisher at the cyclops' head, distracting it enough to allow Usagi to kick it away. She then throws a second Moon Tiara Boomerang, slicing the drone's head off. The two bust through the door, surprising Dr. Kay. Usagi demands that she release Koji before anyone gets hurt, and Nyoka begs her mother to stop this madness and just go home together. Kay pauses for a moment, but in an act of despiration, she pulls a laser pistol out of her jacket. In a split second, Usagi throws another MTB, slicing the pistol in half and cutting through the control panel behind her. The panel's explosion causes the cage around Mazinger to desipate, and with the last of its strength, Koji fires a powerful Photon Beam, destroying all of the Cyclops Drones surrounding him. The barrier drained a lot of Mazinger's power, most prominently in the Jet Scrander, but it had just enough to take out one leg. Taking the chance, Koji leaps into the air and throws a Giant Swing Rocket Punch, with both piercing through both thrusters on a nearby leg. As the control center continues to be set ablaze, Nyoka tries to run to her mother, but a burning steel beam blocks her path. Usagi pulls her back for the flames, Nyoka still desperately calling for her mother, but Kay tells her to stay back, as the flames were getting to intense. She begs her to get off the fortress before it explodes, whether it be with Usagi or an escape pod, as long as she got out. Nyoka complies, and she watches Kay run to a nearby escape pod with tears in her eyes. Usagi grabs her as the two run down the hall they came in, but the flames from the destroyed leg have already reached the emergency exit. Just then, Mazinger's Iron Cutter pierces through the wall next to them, cutting open a hole with Koji offering a ride home. The girls jump into Z's cockpit, and the mecha lands on a cliffside below as the Adzam crashes into the ground below and explodes. The mission is complete, but the Scrander had used up all its power, so they were going to have to walk the rest of the way. The girls don't seem to mind, as it means they can take a stroll through the forest. As they walk, Koji congratulates Usagi on a... mostly successful first solo outing, even managing to save a "damsel-in-distress". Usagi throws a couple light punches at him, but when she sees Nyoka looking out the cockpit, hoping that her mother managed to escape in time, she reassures her that she'll be fine. The three exchange smiles as Mazinger Z walks into the horizon. Notes This episode is based off of Nyoka's introductory episode in her original series, "Astro's First Love". However, there are many key changes: * Nyoka has many differences from her original counterpart. For more information on the changes made to her character, visit her page. * In the original episode, Astro is sent into the main villain's headquarters to retrieve blueprints for a robot bomb. In this episode, the mission is changed into just infiltrating the fortress itself and try to destroy it. * Nyoka's meetings with Astro and Usagi are very different. In the original, she spots Astro jumping off of a train near and stops her from running away by throwing a large branch into her path. He then somehow immediately tells that she's a robot and then asks if she lives around the area. In this version, Nyoka helps Usagi down from a tangle of vines and both formally introduce themselves before Usagi asks if she knows where the fortress is. * After Nyoka leaves the room in the original, Rindolph launches Astro into space with a rocket, aiming to launch him into the sun. This then leads to Nyoka holding onto the side of the rocket, which angers Rindolph and makes him activate the bomb in her head. In this episode, the rocket part is dropped in favor of Usagi being trapped inside of a cell as the Adzam launches to battle the Mazinger Z. When the base launches, Nyoka is spotted directly above Usagi's cell, trying to punch her way into the cell. * At the end of the episode, Nyoka is disassembled to stop the bomb inside of her from detonating. Since Nyoka is a reoccurring character in KotM, this obviously doesn't happen, as Nyoka just leaves with Usagi and Koji as the Adzam explodes. The episode's title is an obvious homage to the lyric "I can go twice as high" from the theme song to Reading Rainbow. The song Nyoka is humming in her introduction is actually the theme to the 1980 Astro Boy anime. Category:Episodes Category:Season 1